Recipe
Insalata di Mare
A luxurious, classic Italian seafood salad built on three kinds of cephalopod — polpo, calamari and seppia. Cooking each one separately gives all three a perfect texture.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cooking
- 1 h
- Servings
- 4
- Total
- 1 h 30 min
The recipe text is written by our kitchen in Swedish.
Ingredients
- 400 g octopus (polpo)
- 300 g squid (tubes and tentacles)
- 300 g cuttlefish (seppia)
- 200 ml white wine
- 2 lemons
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 1 pot of flat-leaf parsley
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 100 ml olives (Gaeta or Leccino)
- 1 tbsp capers
- Flaky salt and black pepper
- Sourdough bread
Method
- 1.
Cook the seafood. Each type needs its own cooking time so it does not turn rubbery. Polpo: if raw, simmer gently in the poaching liquid with a lid on for about 40–50 minutes until completely tender. Let it cool and cut into bite-sized pieces (if you buy it pre-cooked, cut it straight away).
- 2.
Seppia. Simmer in the poaching liquid for about 10–15 minutes until the flesh has bite but is tender. Lift out, cool and cut into strips.
- 3.
Calamari. Simmer in the boiling liquid for no more than 1–2 minutes. They toughen if cooked too long. Chill quickly in ice-cold water.
- 4.
Assemble the salad. Put all the cooled seafood in a large bowl. Fold in the sliced celery, chopped parsley and garlic, plus the olives and capers if using.
- 5.
Dress. Drizzle over the olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper.
- 6.
Marinate. Toss thoroughly. Let the salad rest in the fridge for at least 1–2 hours before serving so the seafood absorbs all the flavours. Serve with sourdough bread.
Wine pairing
Campania Greco di Tufo "Sepofà"
Intensiv gul färg och en stark, uttrycksfull doft. Torr och harmonisk smak med en eftersmak av mandel och aprikos samt en fin mineralitet. Fiskförrätter, färska ostar och risotto.
Tips from the kitchen
- Cooking times matter. Octopus needs a long, gentle simmer while squid only takes 1–2 minutes. Never cook them together.
- Chill fast. Move squid and cuttlefish straight into ice water to keep them tender and springy.
- Let it marinate. At least 1–2 hours in the fridge lets the lemon, garlic and olive oil soak into the seafood.
- Serve lightly chilled. Take the salad out 15 minutes before serving — the flavours open up just below room temperature.